Tombstone Tuesday–Katharina (Hiller) Linn

This is the tombstone of Katharina (Hiller) Linn, located in row 8 of Kessler Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Katharina
Linn
Geb. 10, Juni 1882
Gest. 22 Mai 1910
LINN

Translation: Katharina Linn, born 10 June 1882, died 22 May 1910.

Katharina Linn, born Katharina Hiller, was born 10 June 1882, the daughter of Jacob & Martha (Sundmacher) Hiller. She was baptized at Zion Chatt on 23 July 1882 with Jacob and Katharine Betzel as her sponsors.

The Hillers lived just across the state line in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana. According to Zion Chatt’s records the Hillers immigrated in 1839 and moved to the Chattanooga, Ohio, area about 1847. They attended Zion Lutheran Church in Chatt.

In 1900 Katharina Hiller was living with her parents and two of her siblings in Adams County, Indiana: Jacob, 57, Martha, 51, John, 29, Henry C, 28, and Katie, 18. The enumeration indicates that Jacob and Martha had been married 31 years; that Jacob was born in Ohio but his parents were born in Germany; that Martha (Sundmacher) Hiller was born in Germany and had given birth to 7 children but only 5 were living; and that their three children enumerated with them were born in Indiana. [1]

Katharina Hiller married Georg Linn on 14 January 1902 at Zion Chatt, married by Rev. R.V. Smith. The church record indicates that Katharina was 20 years of age and was from Adams County, Indiana. Georg was 27 years of age and from Liberty Township, the son of Phillip and Margaret (Miller) Linn. Although they were married at Zion Chatt they obtained their marriage license in Adams County, Indiana. [2]

Georg Linn & Katharina Hiller marriage, with Mary Miller.

Georg and Katharina had three daughters during their short married life:

Their youngest daughter Agnes Elvira died 4 May 1908, at the age of about 14 months. Georg passed away about six months later, on 28 November 1908.

Katharina (Hiller) Linn died of consumption on 22 May 1910 and was buried near her parents in Kessler Cemetery on the 24th.

Georg and Katharina’s remaining two young daughters were orphans and were taken in by their maternal grandparents. In 1910 sisters Clara and Maria were living with grandparents Jacob and Martha Hiller in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana. [3]

The two surviving sisters eventually married brothers, sons of David & Mary (Hartzog) Debolt.

Karen Miller Bennett, CG(R)

Greetings from the Chattanooga, Ohio, area. Yes, Ohio has its very own Chattanooga, aka Chatt, a small village in west-central Ohio, near the Indiana border. I have been doing family history research for over 20 years and am a Board-Certified genealogist, certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists®. My main genealogical interests are family research, cemetery research, and historical and genealogical research of the Chatt area, with a focus on two area Lutheran Churches, both named Zion Lutheran, one in Chatt and the other in Schumm, Ohio. Family names I am researching include Miller, Schumm, Brewster, Rueck, Reid, Headington, Huey, Bryan, Whiteman, Schinnerer, Scaer, Breuninger, Bennett, and a few others. I belong to several lineage societies, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, U.S. Daughters of 1812, First Families of Ohio, and First Families of Mercer and Van Wert Counties. I am also a retired dental hygienist and our church organist. I hope you enjoy Karen's Chatt.